Research and EBM

Research Curriculum

At UAMS, you will have the opportunity to explore research in a large academic university setting. Our research curriculum is longitudinal, providing you with a strong foundation throughout your three years here. You will be introduced to the core principles of epidemiology, evidence based medicine, and scholarly project development in four ways: monthly Journal Club, our interactive EBM and knowledge dissemination didactic series, your residency scholarly project, and an optional research elective. You also have the opportunity to explore the many opportunities our University based program has to offer including a Translational Research Institute (in addition to 6 other institutes with robust research initiatives), diverse basic sciences departments, and Arkansas’ only medical school.

Journal Club

Dr. Carly Eastin is the faculty liaison for journal club. Each month, the topic/PICO question is chosen by the residents assigned to present at JC that month. At the request of our residents, our Journal Club series has been moved from the hospital to off-campus to provide a more informal setting. Held at a faculty member’s home, there is time to socialize with medical students, your fellow residents, and faculty while dinner is provided. Most importantly, there is dedicated time discussing the best available evidence for that month’s particular topic. We also frequently invite consultants to attend and offer their perspective on the topic. We end each session by asking the following question: Will this evidence change your practice?

EBM & Knowledge Dissemination Didactic Series

Mastering the basic skills to be intelligent and efficient consumers of the medical literature will be one of the many things you will learn here that will distinguish you from other EM graduates. We take EBM education seriously. Numerous UAMS EM faculty have trained at both national and international courses. Our Department Chair, Tony Seupaul, has been an active EBM instructor both nationally and internationally for over a decade. The curriculum is longitudinal and spans Journal Club, interactive didactic conferences, state and local conferences, and real time clinical care in the ED.

Scholarly Project

Here at UAMS, we know that some residents are very interested in traditional research while others may not plan on a career in research. For that reason, we created a scholarly activity guideline that allows each resident to tailor his or her project to his or her interests. Residents identify a faculty mentor, in our department or another, to help them complete the project(s) they choose. This allows for a truly customizable experience. At the end of each year, residents are asked to present their projects at the departmental research day; one resident is awarded “best project of the year” at the graduation ceremony. You can read more about our scholarly project guidelines here.

Research Elective

During the third year, residents have the option of using their elective time to do research. Residents wishing to pursue the research elective will be expected to create a detailed proposal outlining what they expect to accomplish during the month. The research committee, made up of faculty and residents, would then discuss and approve the elective. Part of the elective could potentially include spending one-on-one time with faculty learning advanced concepts in EBM and translational medicine.